A Work in Progress….

Genesis 26:31 Early the next morning the men swore an oath to each other. Then Isaac sent them on their way, and they went away peacefully.

Commentary says of today’s scripture that Isaac enjoyed a “rich season of blessing” during this time. And while that’s true, I maintain as I said the other day, that we are all richly blessed by God daily and that we should strive for gratefulness and thankfulness instead of just defaulting to #blessed.

Genesis 26:32 That day Isaac’s servants came and told him about the well they had dug. They said, “We’ve found water!” 

I used to have these periods that I called “blue funks” when everything just felt….off. And something I would do to try to lift myself out of the funk was to count my blessings. Literally. 1. Air in my lungs, 2. A roof over my head, 3. Clothes on my back, 4. People who love me….Every blessing had a number, and I would count until I reminded myself that I truly was richly blessed, even though everything felt wrong. Then I was usually able to switch to praise for those blessings.

Genesis 26:33 He called it Shibah, and to this day the name of the town has been Beersheba. Jacob Takes Esau’s Blessing.

Precious Savior, Forgive me when I cannot see the blessings for the hardships in my life. Help me to remember, always, that I am richly blessed because I am Your child. Even when life is difficult, even when things are rocky and chaotic, even when life breaks my heart, even then, You are with me, Your presence blesses me richly. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 26:34-35 When Esau was forty years old, he married Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and also Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite. They were a source of grief to Isaac and Rebekah.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 26:25 Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the Lord. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.

If I were Isaac, I would be tempted to use my position of power (favored by God) in some sort of retaliation for the earlier behavior of the Philistine herdsmen. They filled in multiple wells (which were timely and expensive to dig). They chased him out of town. Now they want a sworn agreement? Now that they see God is with him?

Genesis 26:26-27 Meanwhile, Abimelek had come to him from Gerar, with Ahuzzath his personal adviser and Phicol the commander of his forces. Isaac asked them, “Why have you come to me, since you were hostile to me and sent me away?”

Thankfully, Isaac responds with a cooler, more godly head than I would have. He makes a feast for them, invites them to the table. He uses his status as God’s child for reparation instead of further division.

Genesis 26:28-29 They answered, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us’—between us and you. Let us make a treaty with you that you will do us no harm, just as we did not harm you but always treated you well and sent you away peacefully. And now you are blessed by the Lord.”

Precious Savior, Sometimes life is contentious, sometimes people are cruel. But always we have the power to act as Your hands and feet, to use our status as You children to facilitate reparation instead of further division. Forgive us when we choose poorly. Help us always to strive to shine Your light. Amen.

Genesis 26:30 Isaac then made a feast for them, and they ate and drank.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 26:17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. 

Verses 14 & 15 tell us that the Philistines envied Isaac because he was so richly blessed by the Lord. As a result of that envy, the Philistines stopped up Isaac’s wells, wells that had been dug by his father Abraham, wells that were expensive and laborious to dig, wells that were absolutely necessary to the life of both humans and animals. Envy is an ugly beast.

Genesis 26:18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.

Revenge is also an ugly beast, but Isaac didn’t choose that path. He decided to “move away from there” (v17), to trust that God would provide, to trust that God would defend, to put in the hard work of redigging the sabotaged wells of his father, to put in the work and to trust and to live instead of investing his time in getting even with those who had wronged him.

Genesis 26:19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there.

Precious Savior, Forgive us that often our first thoughts after being wronged are about seeking revenge. Help us, instead, to seek You, to glorify You, to trust You, to obey You, to put in the work and to trust and to live instead of investing our time in revenge on those who have wronged us. Help us, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 26:20 But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 26:12 Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him.  

The expression “I am so blessed” really bothers me. I think the reason it does is that we are all blessed, daily, lavishly, in a multitude of ways, yet it is so very easy to overlook those blessings when we are focused on disappointments, heartaches, hopes for the future. Sometimes we overlook what’s right under our noses. I know I do.

Genesis 26:13-14 The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him. 

I guess instead of spouting off about “blessings,” I feel like what I should be doing is showing my gratitude, showing my thankfulness to the Giver of all blessings. I woke up this morning. Thank You, Jesus. I can move without significant pain. Thank You, Jesus. I have a beautiful family whom I love dearly (even when they pluck my last nerve…because they are human as I am). Thank You, Jesus.

Genesis 26:15 So all the wells that his father’s servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.

Precious Savior, Thank You for the multitude of blessings that You lavish on me daily. Forgive me when I get so focused on wants and hopes and disappointments that I fail to see the blessings that You provide. Help me, daily, to count those blessings, to give You praise and glory, to show my gratitude, my thankfulness. I’m not worthy, Lord. I can never be worthy. Thank You for loving me fiercely and completely anyway. Amen.

Genesis 26:16 Then Abimelek said to Isaac, “Move away from us; you have become too powerful for us.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 26:7 When the men of that place asked him about his wife, he said, “She is my sister,” because he was afraid to say, “She is my wife.” He thought, “The men of this place might kill me on account of Rebekah, because she is beautiful.”

A phrase from commentary jumped out at me this morning, “sin can follow upon an outpouring of God’s blessing.” That line reminded me of a church sign I’ve seen before, which truly bothers me: “When all else fails, pray.” The two quotes, in my mind, are closely linked.

Genesis 26:8 When Isaac had been there a long time, Abimelek king of the Philistines looked down from a window and saw Isaac caressing his wife Rebekah. 

When God showers us with blessings, many of us eventually get complacent with our prayers of thanks. We start to see the blessings as our due. Maybe we grumble when the blessings aren’t flowing. But prayer should never be reserved for “when all else fails.” Prayer should be a daily conversation, as ingrained in us and as natural to us as breathing.

Genesis 26:9 So Abimelek summoned Isaac and said, “She is really your wife! Why did you say, ‘She is my sister’?” Isaac answered him, “Because I thought I might lose my life on account of her.”

Precious Savior, Forgive me that prayer is not my default, is not as natural to me as breathing. Help me to view prayer and to practice prayer as the lifeline that it is. Help me to lay everything before You–my worries and fears, my praise and thanksgiving, my random musings and observations. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 26:10-11 Then Abimelek said, “What is this you have done to us? One of the men might well have slept with your wife, and you would have brought guilt upon us.” So Abimelek gave orders to all the people: “Anyone who harms this man or his wife shall surely be put to death.”

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 26:1 Now there was a famine in the land—besides the previous famine in Abraham’s time—and Isaac went to Abimelek king of the Philistines in Gerar.  

Today’s scripture is an interesting look at connections made through stream-of-consciousness thought. Commentary says of Isaac’s situation: “Though Isaac lived in the land God promised to his father Abraham and his descendants, it did not mean that life in the land would be without trouble or challenge.” The reminder of  “trouble or challenge” brought to mind a poem by Annie Johnson Flynt, entitled “What God Hath Promised.”

Genesis 26:2 The Lord appeared to Isaac and said, “Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live.

The last stanza of that poem reads: “But God hath promised strength for the day,/Rest for the labor, light for the way,/Grace for the trials, help from above,/Unfailing sympathy, undying love.” God promised never to leave us, never to forsake us. So no matter what dark and winding road you are currently on, He is with you, right beside you, holding you, carrying you, loving you. Even now.

Genesis 26:3 Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. 

Precious Savior, Thank You for this reminder that You are with us always. When life is going sideways, what I want is for You to make it stop. That’s not what You promise. You promise never to leave me, never forsake me. I don’t always understand Your ways, Lord, but I understand Your presence. Thank You. Amen.

Genesis 26:4-6 I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions.” So Isaac stayed in Gerar.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 25:29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 

My first thought when I read today’s verses is Esau’s comment about being “about to die” is said because he is so very hungry. Commentary says that the comment shows his lack of regard for the spiritual (and physical, I suppose) inheritance of his birthright.  Life is short. He’ll die at the end of it. What does he care about birthrights?

Genesis 25:30-31 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.”

Truly, though, Esau is guilty of something we all are guilty of at times–providing for his physical wants and needs without being concerned about the spiritual. Esau is hungry right now. There is stew right there. Who cares about anything other than this current need/want/desire that can be so easily fulfilled?

Genesis 25:32-33 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob.

Precious Savior, It’s easy to sit in judgment, to armchair quarterback what other people do, should do, should have done. Help us to be more concerned with our own lives, our own spiritual growth and  health. Help us to think further than our immediate desires and comfort and to consider our eternal health as well. Amen.

Genesis 25:34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left. So Esau despised his birthright.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 25:24-25 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 

Once again, I am scratching my head a bit at a “key Biblical figure.” I’m familiar with Bible stories, of course. I’ve heard the stories of Esau and Jacob. But somehow I always forget the bit about Jacob’s cunning and trickery. Those don’t seem like key descriptors for an important Biblical patriarch to me.

Genesis 25:26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them.

How is it that I keep forgetting how incredibly human and fallible and messy are these folks that God keeps using, and uses mightily for His work? Is it because when I originally learned about them as a youth, I was told (or told myself?) that God only uses those who are perfect? No way he could use me with all my flaws?

Genesis 25:27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents.

Precious Savior, Thank You for reminding me that Your Son is the only perfect one among humans. The rest of us are varying degrees of hot mess. And yet, You can and will and do use us, even in our messiness, but only if we allow. Help me to get out of Your way, to allow You to use me as Your hands and feet in this world that so desperately needs You. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 25:28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob.

Have a blessed day.

Genesis 25:19-20 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean.

Isaac is the chosen son of Abraham. However, even Isaac and Rebekah had to wait 20 years for the fulfillment of their dream to have children. That’s a long time. I would have figured this child of promise would have had everything in life as soon as he thought of it.

Genesis 25:21 Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 

That thought is rather ridiculous, I know. I’ve seen God work through the waiting. I’ve seen how faith is shaped and strengthened when “Not yet,” “Not like this,” “My plans, not yours” is the answer. It can be difficult and frustrating, but trust grows, as long as we keep our hearts focused on Him, our minds rooted in Him.

Genesis 25:22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the Lord.

Precious Savior, Forgive me when I get so wrapped up in my plans, my ways, my dreams that I get ahead of You, that I forget that I am here to praise You, worship You, shine Your light. Help me to be so deeply rooted in You that Your will IS my will. Help me, Jesus. Amen.

Genesis 25:23 The Lord said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated; one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger.”

Have a blessed day.